And, thanks to the unique way his new contract is structured, Seabrook doesn’t have to worry about losing much of that income if the NHL goes through another work stoppage before it’s over.

His is the latest contract to include “lockout protection” because it calls for minimal salary to be paid in 2020-21 and 2022-23. Several industry sources contacted Monday insist that this will soon become the standard for long-term deals.

“Any contract for an elite player going into 2020-21 will include almost all signing bonus and little salary,” said one.

"Lockout protection is already on everybody's radar," added another.

The significance behind the dates is simple: The NHL and NHL Players' Association each have a right to terminate the current collective bargaining agreement in September 2020. If neither chooses to do so, it will expire in September 2022.

More than half of Seabrook's new deal is scheduled to be paid via signing bonus -- once-yearly cheques on July 1 that aren't affected by a potential lockout. Only his actual salary would decrease if the NHL experienced the third one of those in two decades, and he's due to earn just $1-million in each of the seasons where it is possible.

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